Page 38 of The Granddaughter's Irish Secret
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After getting Dominic to help with the car, Rose spent the next few days working through the accounts and marketing campaign for the senior apartments, the first of which would soon be ready for rent. Then there was the fashion show, and asking clothing shops to make their summer collections available, which they readily agreed to. The manager of the new vintage shop was delighted to help out with the clothes for that part of the show. She’d gone through the clothes with Rose, who was happy to spend a little time rummaging through everything, from Victorian and Edwardian clothes to the 1920s and ’30s. Recruiting models was about to start as well through a Facebook page Rose had set up. Then the continuing work on the manor, which now included putting a laundry in the basement area that used to be the kitchen in the old days. The tenants of the flats would be able to do their washing there instead of having their own washing machines in their flats, which would take up too much space. This was Sylvia’s idea that she had picked up from a Scandinavian property magazine. The cost of the laundry would be added to the rent of the apartments. Nobody objected tothis addition, and it was voted through by the board at another meeting.
Rose was hoping to hear from Noel about the Blennerhassett woman, but he hadn’t been in touch. Vicky, who was helping out with the fashion show, had said he was very busy at the moment. So Rose decided not to bother him and to keep going with her research on her own.
Lily was also trying to get the walled garden project started, and had brought in a landscape architect who had laid out plans using old drawings they had found in the storeroom. Rose agreed that it would be wonderful to recreate the original walled gardens that had been laid out around the time Magnolia Manor was built.
‘All settled, then,’ Lily said when the landscape architect had left and they were walking back to the manor. ‘How are the preparations for the fashion show going?’
‘All right I think. I hope we get together a good group of models,’ Rose said, pulling her phone from the pocket of her jeans. ‘I’ll take a look at the Facebook page. Vicky said she’d manage it.’ The phone pinged. ‘That could be her. Oh no, it’s from Noel,’ Rose exclaimed and read the message.
Found the woman.Call me when you have a moment and I’ll tell you all about her.
‘What woman?’ Lily asked, looking at Rose’s phone over her shoulder.
‘A woman called Melanie Blennerhassett,’ Rose explained. ‘I’m doing some research about the Fleury women for the fashion show, and this woman seems to have been connected to our family in some way.’
‘What way?’ Lily asked.
‘It’s to do with Cornelius’s sister Iseult,’ Rose replied. ‘But I don’t have all the details yet, so I can’t tell you much.’ She knew she should tell Lily the truth, but she couldn’t bear to do it just yet. Not until she had the full story.
Lily kept staring at Rose. ‘What’s going on?’ she asked, looking suspicious. ‘You’re hiding something. I can tell. You have that guilty look.’
‘I can’t say anything about it right now,’ Rose said. ‘I have to get to the bottom of this first. It’s something a bit complicated.’
Lily sighed. ‘Oh okay. I can tell it’s useless to ask anything else. In any case I have to go. I left Naomi with Granny. She was asleep in her pram so hopefully she stayed that way. The baby, not Granny,’ she added.
Rose laughed. ‘I figured that. I have to call Noel. I’ll see you later.’
‘Okay,’ Lily said and walked away.
Rose sat down on a tree stump and dialled Noel’s number. ‘Hi, it’s Rose,’ she said when he answered. ‘Tell me about the woman or I’ll explode. Who is she? Where is she? How can I get in touch with her?’
‘Hold on.’ Noel laughed. ‘Calm down. I’ll tell you what I’ve found out.’
‘Okay.’ Rose took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves. ‘Go on.’
‘Melanie Blennerhassett lives in Cork city. She recently slipped on some spilled oil at a garage and sustained a fractured ankle. She sued the garage and got thirty thousand in damages. If you want to get in touch with her, I’ll give you the address. Can’t give you the phone number but, if she has a landline, it would be easy to look it up. A mobile number would be more difficult to find.’
‘I know. So let’s hope she’s the old fashioned type with a landline,’ Rose said. ‘Wow, thirty thousand,’ she added. ‘Must have made her feel a lot better.’
‘I’d say it did,’ Noel agreed. ‘May I ask what this is about?’
‘You may ask, but…’ Rose stopped. She was about to say it was a secret, but then felt she needed to tell someone she could trust. Noel was her best bet. ‘I’ll tell you next time we meet. If you’re free tomorrow, I’d love some help with sorting out stuff in the family archives. It’s going to rain, so a good time to be indoors.’
‘I’m glad to see you’re checking the weather report,’ Noel remarked.
‘Yes. It’s my new hobby,’ Rose quipped. ‘I’ve learned from my mistake. I check it every day now, just in case there is another storm on the horizon.’
‘Good idea.’ Noel paused. ‘I’m free tomorrow afternoon, if that suits you. Whatever the weather.’
‘Yes, brilliant. Could you be here after lunch? So much to get through.’
‘Looking forward to it,’ Noel said. ‘Can’t wait to hear what the secret is all about. I’ll text you that address. See you then, Rose.’
‘Oh,’ Rose said, as a thought struck her. ‘I’d like to ask Vicky if she knows anyone who might have a phonebook for Cork. She has family there. Just to see if I can find that woman.’
‘Look it up online,’ Noel suggested. ‘If there is a landline at that address, you’ll find it in the yellow pages. I’ll look it up and text it to you straight away.’
